William Arthur Rapp

William A “Bill” Rapp was born Sept 10, 1927 in El Paso, Texas to John and Carrie Rapp and passed to his heavenly home on January 15, 2023 with his bride of 52 years at his side. He graduated from El Paso High School where he was student class president, colonel of the JROTC, and competed in pole vaulting and broad jumping events. He was always a patriot and proudly served in all three military branches.

He voluntarily joined the Navy with a group of his friends right out of high school in 1945 before accepting an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1946. In West Point, he lettered in pole vaulting and broad jumping, and was teammates with Buzz Aldrin the astronaut. He pole vaulted at Madison Square Garden where his pole broke. He graduated from West Point as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1950 and ranked 188 in a class of 767 students.

Bill qualified to enter flight school in the Army Air Corp at Goodfellow Air Field in San Angelo, Texas before it branched into the Air Force. He served in the Air Force from 1950 to 1959. After basic training, he was appointed instructor in multi-engine planes and assigned to Reece Air Field in Lubbock, Texas. Bill had many adventures in the Air Force and loved flying. He logged almost 4,000 flight hours and lauded that he flew around the world twice “in opposite directions.” He trained Taiwanese fliers for Chiang Kai-she, the President of the Republic of China, during the Chinese Civil War in attempts to recapture mainland China from Communist rule. Bill received Chinese Wings from the Chinese government and Congress granted him permission to wear them as part of his military uniform. He was stationed in Gimpo, Korea and served as Liaison Officer spotting for artillery and was in charge of air lift to take commission to Japan. He was a senior pilot and flew DC-10 planes in Korea. Bill’s favorite plane to fly was the B-25, but he also flew C-47s, DC-3s, and AT-6s. Another of his favorite adventures was serving as Aide to Camp to General William Morgan in Boston, Massachusetts. He completed a tour of duty in Athens, Greece and got to meet King Paul and Queen Frederica at a state dinner. He retired in 1959 at the rank of Captain.

Civilian life after 1960 found Bill several careers including civil engineer with West Texas Consultants, motor and pump division of Allis Chalmers, and restaurateur at the Branding Iron Restaurant from 1969-1979. He married the love of his life, Brenda in 1970 who faithfully and steadfastly walked with Bill on the path to paradise. Bill’s biggest adventure as a Pawpaw began with the birth of his first grandchildren in 1980. In 1990, he rededicated his life to Christ and led his family as a Christian Patriot until his death. He greeted everyone with a smile and a robust hug and always urged his family at every goodbye to put on the full armor of Christ (Eph 6: 10-20). Those who knew him will always recall him saying “God loves you and so do we!”

Truly, the highlight of Bill’s life was his grandchildren and later his great grandchildren. He and Brenda created adventures of hunting, fishing, “going to church” on their road trips, swimming at Balmorrhea, camping, sleepovers at every chance, sand dune sledding at Monahans Sand Hills, playing Changey Changey, zip lining in the backyard, playing GI Joe with real guns, tossing a ball, riding a dirt bike or horse, and so many other treasured events.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents John and Carrie Rapp, siblings John A Rapp and Martha Franklin, and grandson Tommy Rasmussen Jr.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years Brenda Rapp; 4 daughters: Samantha (Rick) Pierce, Courtney Rapp, Tammy (Tommy) Rasmussen, and Lani (Paul) Ziemkowski; 6 grandchildren: Eva Johnson, Taylor (Rachel) Welch, Justin (Wendy) Welch, Tasha Wells (DJ Boger), Dustin (Melissa) Parks, and Christine Rasmussen (Lauren Moore); and 10 great grandchildren: Kadin (Autumn), London, Jaden, Haley, Layton, Macy, Maverick, Wyatt, Rhett, and Kyra.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Bill’s memory to a military charity of your choice such as Wounded Warrior Project, Hunt for Heros, or Reel Thanx.